150 Games Down – 12 to Go!

Posted By on September 20, 2021

After 150 games, the Dodgers are trailing the San Francisco Giants by just one game. The Giants have the best record in baseball and the Dodgers are just one game behind them for the best record. Both teams have today off and then the Dodgers play the Rockies, who have been very good of late while the Giants play the Padres who are a trainwreck. I always said that we should not question AJ Preller’s ability to screw things up. Well, he assembled the team, and with Machado and Tatis now fighting, Dodger fans can only hope they will engage in a group hug and decide to destroy the Giants.

Clayton Kershaw looked to be a solid #4 starter as the Dodgers beat the Reds soundly in Great American Ballpark while the Braves shut out the Giants. Here we go! This is for all the marbles. If the Dodgers want to win the Division, my advice is: Win the game you are playing… 12 more times! But this is baseball and you just never know how this is going to end.

The Dodgers have won eight of their past nine games, and their starters are 7-1 with a 1.46 ERA (9 ER/54.1 IP) in that span with just one home run allowed. After a two-month stay on the injured list, Clayton Kershaw held the Reds to one run over five innings in the win on Sunday, and he’ll be stretched out even further in his next outing. Frankly, I am surprised he is able to pitch that far into a game after missing two months.

Clayton threw mostly curves and sliders and did not thow a pitch over 91 (that I saw), but with fireballers Scherzer, Buehler, and Urias ahead of him in the rotation, he gives the hitters a different look.

Cody Bellinger (fractured rib) might be back on Tuesday and AJ Pollock will allegedly be back for the four game series with the D-Backs. Mookie, JT, Corey, Will, and Max seem healthy. Albert is the Dodgers Secret Weapon off the bench and Gavin Lux and CT3 are coming alive at the right time. This is potentially the best the Dodgers have been all season. It seems like they are all coming together for this stretch run ending with three against the Brewers.

As it stands right now, the Dodgers would have to play the Wild Card game and Buehler and/or Scherzer would be ready if you count the days. It would be best if they just win out in order to avoid that situation. Anything (literally ANYTHING) can happen in one game. It’s time to seize the day… one game at a time!

Mitch White will get the call… probably on Wednesday or Thursday. He pitched 4 innings at OKC last night and allowed no earned runs while striking out 6. Victor Gonzalez could also get called back up, but most of the roster churning is over. Matt Beaty is the man on the bubble. His defense is hard to hide, so McKinstry could be a possibility. The roster is pretty well set – there could be a tweak or two, but this is for all the marbles. Can the Dodgers tear first place out of the Giants grubby paws? That’s what I want to see!

This article has 53 Comments

  1. Thoughts On using Gavin Lux here on out….

    What really impressed me yesterday is that he was hitting well against LHP. If he can do that, I’m not sure I would prefer him being on the bench when we face a lefty. I know Pollock and CT3 will play the OF along with Betts, so I guess he won’t play. And, perhaps it makes some sense to not play him, seeing that his overall stats against lefties are not good, but man, he sure looked good yesterday. Is he learning that quickly?

    But, don’t you think it would be foolish to have him on the bench against a RHP? I do. The way he is playing now, that makes no sense. However, i see Pollock is batting just as well against RHP as he is against lefties….296 and .298. I would hate to bench Lux every game seeing the way he has been hitting ever since he started playing LF.

    Oh, and he has clearly moved passed Cody on the pecking order. The only drawback is, I don’t know if Lux is good enough to play CF. I guess that is moot if we face a RHP- both of them probably would play, with Pollock and CT3 on the bench.

    Thoughts on what I said?
    TM

    1. Belli and CT3 can play center, Lux and Pollock can play left without losing too much much D. Robert’s has already said he prefers experience in the postseason.

      Belli has been given every opportunity to turn things around and will get a little more opportunity. BUt, with the broken rib, there’s a good excuse to give him plenty of rest. There’s already reason to give Pollock some rest with the hamstring.

      As far as the postseason roster goes, Lux is playing his way onto it. I think Beaty has done enough to be a bench bat. I don’t McKinney has any chance at a postseason roster spot.

      As far as platoons go, I don’t think either position will get a straight platoon. I think Pollock gets the majority of playing time in left and I think CT3 will split time with Belli in Center while giving other players an occasional breather over the stretch run. I can see Belli and Lux getting into a game late when they don’t start as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement in the outfield. Remember that JT and Betts will get a day to rest injuries as well. Knowing Doc, you might even see Muncy, Seager and TT get a breather.

  2. Dodgers are technically 2 games behind, if there is a tie, SF has the advantage, right?
    From what I’ve read, that wasn’t a fight, it turns out that they say Manny was being a “real leader” in trying to calm Tatis down. … So now it turns out that he is not an asshole, but a leader! !

    1. If it ends in a tie there will be a one game playoff in SF.

      play the hot bat. Play lux until he cools off.

      Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!

  3. Lux has hit at every stop. He’s hit occasionally at the big league level. It’s always been my belief he just needs to play. What position that will be is a good question. He can play anywhere. I like him in the outfield. His speed can come in handy there. Yes, he could learn centerfield and no doubt be good out there. I hope he doesn’t have to. Left field is fine for now and maybe a CT3 role would work for him.

    Kershaw was impressive for 74 pitches. Gonsolin not so much.

    Muncy. We need him. No time now to take a day off.

    I’ve said for weeks I think we will win the West. I still believe that.

    1. I think the only way he ends up in the OF for next year is if Seager resigns (one) and is kept at SS (two.)

      Right?

      Am I missing something?

      1. Nope, not missing anything on this point. He’s probably in the infield if Seager leaves. It’s my gut feeling that with his superior athleticism he will be a good defensive player once he knows where he is going to play. That said, there’s still some interesting free agent shortstops that will be out there this winter, not the least of which is a 31 year old Marcus Semien. He’s rockin a 6.8 WAR this year. And he’s good defensively. Contract year of course, but he did in ‘19 as well.

  4. Yes Mark, the Dodgers are going to snatch that pebble just like Kwai Chang Caine snatched the pebble from Master Po and it will be delightful.

    This team is clearly the best team when at full strength. Sadly for most of the year, we’ve been cheated out of our rightful place at the top due to injuries.

    It all starts with pitching and defense. Both areas have been much better in recent games. The pitching has been incredible and the defense has been better that good enough. The bats have shown they can score runs even off the best pitchers. Just enough to win most close games, even with a lineup missing a key bat from time to time.

    I like the idea of keep rolling out Lux in LF, but that’s not going to happen. Don’t forget that Pollock was one of the best hitters on the team before the recent hammy strain. They’re going to give him every opportunity to get going before the playoffs start. I doubt they will put Lux in Center with just a handful of games ever in the outfield. Maybe in an emergency situation, but not as a planned option.

    Dodgers or Giants, who do you think is feeling more pressure right about now? I’m thinking the Giants. The Dodgers have taken the slow and steady route like the turtle. They’ve been there before. The Giants have just a couple of players that have been there.

    Schedules are pretty even, even if we have to play to Brew Crew at the end of the season. The Brewers will want to hide their best pitchers for a potential postseason meet up. They’ll have nothing to play for in those last three games having locked up their division title, too far back to catch the West division leader for home field advantage and too big a lead over the Center to lose it.

    The Padres will need to step it up right now in order to salvage their season. Otherwise, they only play to spoil.

    Mark, you mention that Machado and Tatis are fighting. I haven’t seen that. Can you elaborate?

    2. The Padres- stick a fork in them….they probably get swept by SF. No grit, not to mention, no to little pitching now too. Aren’t we glad we got rid of Yu Darvish? I was and still am.

  6. Saw this on TrueBlue.

    Dodgers 2020 draft could end up being low-key good. With Stone, Beeter, Miller and Knack. Not to mention that Catcher, Taylor.

    Landon Knack, the Dodgers’ second-round draft pick in 2020, finished off his Double-A season in style with four scoreless innings in Tulsa’s win over Wisconsin. Knack struck out five on Saturday, lowering his Double-A ERA to 4.37 in six starts.

    Unless the 24-year-old Knack joins Triple-A for the final two weeks, his first professional season ends with an impressive 82 strikeouts against only eight walks in 62⅓ innings, with a 3.18 ERA between High-A Great Lakes and Double-A Tulsa.

    1. Knack is 24, which I just noticed Bluto already pointed out. Beeter and Miller are 22. No need to be gentle with these guys. They aren’t kids anymore. Knack hasn’t thrown that many innings the last two years. Bet he could get a few Major League hitters out.

      1. There must be some crazy protocols and development charts in the offices of Dodgers’ player development execs.

        Would love to see some reporter ever get an interview with them.

        Won’t happen though.

  7. Hands up. Who had their chips on blue 9 to lead the Dodgers in their September drive to another division title? Care to double down on blue 35 in October?

  8. Has everyone read what Bill Shaiken wrote?

    Dave Roberts, best manager in baseball history?

    Perhaps that sentence should end with a period instead of a question mark. The Dodgers are in the playoffs, again. Never have the Dodgers missed the postseason in a year Roberts has managed them.

    For all the never-ending second-guessing from an engaged and spirited fan base, this statistic speaks for itself: Nobody in major league history has managed more games with a better winning percentage.

    Roberts’ career winning percentage is .618. That averages to 100 wins per season.

    In the immortal words of Tommy Lasorda, “This [freaking] job is not that [freaking] easy.”

    The job is much more difficult today than it was in Lasorda’s day.

    Lasorda was the face of the Dodgers. He commanded the attention, and enormous power over who played and who did not, who stayed in L.A. and who did not. He could share a buffet table of Italian delicacies, or overturn it and yell at his players.

    Today, the front office has most of the power, and a manager shouting at his players and tossing tables aside would be considered out of control. The buzzword in the modern baseball operations department is “collaborative” — not just the general manager and the coaching staff, but a village that includes nutritionists, and biomechanical and statistical analysts.

    After the Dodgers clinched their ninth consecutive playoff berth Tuesday, Roberts embraced the organizational village.

    “There’s a lot of sacrifices, a lot of guys pitching in and picking each other up — coaches, front office, training staff, scouting, player development, everyone,” he said. “It takes a whole army to get this thing moving forward in the right direction. There’s a lot of people that should be very proud.”

    Roberts is the spokesman charged with explaining all the Dodgers’ decisions, making him the inevitable target for criticism on “Dodger Talk” and in the weekly letters column in The Times. In last Sunday’s column alone, he was blamed for not sending Cody Bellinger to the minor leagues, for resting players too often, and for treating “pitchers like glassware,” all decisions that would flow from organizational collaboration.

    Roberts declined to say that he took personal satisfaction in another postseason berth, even in a year the Dodgers lost 14 of 18 games and fell into third place in May.

    “I don’t take much time to reflect personally, but it’s great,” he said. “I’m surrounded by so many great people that make me look good and make my job so much fun. We have a lot of talent — not only on the field, but in the entire organization. Personally, I’m just very fortunate to be a part of the Dodgers.

    “Like I said from Day One, when I got hired, I’ve got the best job in the world.”

    On television, it might appear a manager’s most important role is to decide when to change pitchers. In reality, nothing is more important than managing a clubhouse in an era where star players bounce around the field and the batting order and fringe players come and go on a daily basis.

    “He’s been great,” Justin Turner said of Roberts. “He’s been great for us since the first day he put on the Dodger uniform as our manager. He’s a positive guy. He loves the game. He loves his players. We love going out and competing for him.

    “I can’t say enough about him and what he’s done. We’re going to do everything we can to go out and win him another championship.”

    In October, Roberts’ career winning percentage is .585. The only man to manage more postseason games with a higher winning percentage: Joe Torre, who led the New York Yankees to four World Series championships in five seasons.

    Six years is hardly the test of time. Torre managed more than 4,000 games. Lasorda managed 3,000. Roberts has yet to manage 1,000.

    And, yes, Andrew Friedman runs an outstanding front office, and players along the lines of Turner, Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts, Walker Buehler, Kenley Jansen and Corey Seager could make any manager look good.

    But check out that T-shirt the Dodgers wore in celebration Tuesday night: “Built for October.”

    October is never guaranteed. The Dodgers are built for October every year, and Roberts steers them there every year.

    2. Yep, horrible analysis and a waste of time to read it. You are the best manager if you record is the best and because you can manage a clubhouse.

      Manage a clubhouse is completely qualitative. There is no proof that you manage it well. Does winning breed chemistry or does chemistry breed winning?

      I dare say that the winning percentage has more to due with the Front Office than it does with the manager. A manager can cause the team to lose an extra six and win an extra three is the saying?

      Now, I will point out something that Dave does do well. He gets buy in for playing time. One of the first things out of Trea Turner’s mouth was “I like playing full time”. Someone held Robert’s beer as TT was sat on his 3rd day with the club and we haven’t heard a peep.

      The downside, as dismissed by the article is the “in game decision making”. Yeah, a lot of the time it’s Monday morning quarterbacking by fans, but there certainly enough volume of real disasters that occurred as well. In fact, there’s been a number of articles that list those out and it’s frightening how long of a list he’s compiled.

      The notion that the article treads so lightly on that subject gives it cause for dismissal as just being friendly puff piece instead of actually analysing why he’s the greatest manager ever. Let’s see him manage another team, or at least an underdog and see how well he does. How about winning a single All-Star game? Until then, he will always be the second best Dodger’s manager.

  9. First off, Mark, all of the Dodgers remaining series are 3 games. They play this weekend in AZ for 3 not 4. Go home and face SD for 3 and then finish with Milwaukee. I do not think Lux has played enough OF to man CF. No way that happens. Belli, if healthy enough will be in CF hitting low in the order. Pollock should be available by Friday. He and Taylor would play CF if Bellinger cannot make it. Dodger pitching staff has the # 1 ERA in the majors and is the only staff below 3.00. Pujols did a fine job at first yesterday and turned a lineout into a double play. Some concern that the top of the lineup was a wee bit stagnant over the weekend. Trea Turner has a tenuous hold on the batting lead. Burnes gave up 3 earned in his start, so Max has both the ERA title and the Cy Young squarely in his sights. Kersh got his 10th win for the 10th time in his career. He missed his first two years, and in 2018 because of injury and last year because of the truncated season. Buehler could get his 15th win his next start. Scherzer has 15 now, with 6 coming as a Dodger. As for Machado and Tatis, they are both weinies. Machado could not lead a Cub scout troop let alone a baseball team. Tatis is a showboat type player. His dad had more class.

    1. Davis played in 20 more games, and had 7 less HR’s. His only real contribution to the title was the walk he drew off of Eck just before Gibby’s HR. I do not think over a full season with his shoulder healthy that Bellinger would be anywhere close to Davis bad.

      1. Mike Davis also hit a two run homer in the 4th inning of Game 5 that was a key blast in the deciding game of the series. Storm Davis was behind 3-0 on the count and Lasorda allowed the .196 hitting Davis to swing away. I remember thinking at the time that Lasorda was a freaking genious.

  11. This is the year the Dodgers repay the Giants for 1951. Dodgers led most of the year, Giants caught them and won the playoff. LA returns the favor.

  12. The loss of Jake McGee for at least this week,is a major blow to the Giants. He has been superb this year, and in most of those games which the Giants kept finding a way to win in late or extra innings, McGee was there to get the save , or shut the opponent out in the top half of a crucial inning. His being out could definitely matter, though it will depend on whether the Padres can keep the games close.

    I like Bill Shaikin, but this is a silly article seemingly intended to grab headlines. He is giving Roberts most of the credit for the Dodgers piling up all those wins, in a division which up until this year, had a bunch of bad teams in it, except for the one year when the Rockies were competitive? If Roberts is the best manager in baseball history, why did he lose to a better team in the Cubs, a better team in the Red Sox, a presumably lesser team in the Nationals, in the playoffs? Where does his great managing manifest itself? How did the Dodgers get down 3-1 to the Braves, before a series of great defensive plays and home runs saved them? He does have the one World Series title in a shortened season with no home playoff games for any team.

    Was Bobby Cox a great manager, because he won something like twelve divisions in a row with the Braves? Joe Torre won FIVE world championships, but Roberts is better than Torre? Casey Stengel won ten pennants in his twelve seasons with the Yankees, and SEVEN world championships? But Roberts is better? Oh, those two had great talent. So does Roberts. Writing an article trying to claim that Roberts is the greatest manager in baseball history, is the kind of thing I would expect from an attention-grabbing sports pundit, not a respected writer like Shaikin.

    1. Maybe Shaikin was just tired of hearing the blubbering prattle from attention seeking blog pinheads and felt the need to set the record straight. Just a thought. I could be wrong.

      1. Amen brother, you are preaching to the choir. Let Roberts manage as long as both of those guys did before placing a crown on his head. Stengel was a genius with the Yankees. And a clown with the Dodgers, Braves and Mets. Torre was the same with the Braves and Mets before he took over the Yankees. And his Dodger record was so so. Torre did not win 5 Championships with the Yankees. He won 4. And 3 of those in a row, 98,99 and 2000. The only Yankee managers to win 5 or more were Casey Stengel,7, and Joe McCarthy, who also won 7 including 4 in a row. Stengel’s Yanks won 5 in a row. 49, 50, 51, 52 and 53.

        1. Methinks with all teams using advanced metrics throughout their system, managers might have even less influence on winning over a 180 game schedule. Remember, when those same advanced metrics are applied to managers what was found is the best (and maybe that should read THE BEST, you know, for INFUENCING INTERPRETATION) managers in the business are only worth 2 wins above average. I say again – it ain’t the manager, it’s the players.

          1. Casey just let his players play. And look at how many great ones he had on those Yankee teams. Same with Cox and Torre. Cox had 3 of the best pitchers on the planet in his rotation, good defenders, one superstar 3rd baseman and a offense that made the most of it’s opportunities. And William, Cox’s Braves won 14 division titles in 15 years. But, the one season they finished 2nd, there were no playoffs or World Series.

  13. You might have thought Torre’s would be fifth came when Girardi won their last title. Most of those players were from Torre’s teams. A great manager? A great manager wins when he is clearly outclassed by the opposition. 59 Dodgers were not as good of a team as the Go Go Sox, but won anyway. Mets beating a powerful Orioles team in 69. Dodgers besting the Bash Brother’s A’s team. If Dave was such a great manager he would have beaten DC in 19 and a far superior Red Sox team in 18. Some of his missteps in big games have loomed large. A managers bad decision was directly responsible for the Dodgers winning game 6 of the Series last year. Pulling a pitcher after a simple single who was dominating the top 3 in the Dodger lineup was a huge blunder last season. Mookie took advantage, and the Dodgers never looked back.

    1. Thanks, Bear. I wasn’t in research mode this morning. I had somehow thought it was five for Torre, but four is very good, and three more than one, which Roberts has.

      1. I agree. He has as many as Alston, who won in 55, 59, 63 and 65. 3 in a row. Cox won 1 World Series with all those great Braves teams.

  14. Interesting article in FiveThirty Eight about the Dodgers success this year despite having lots of guys either out or performing below their expected production.

    Also, a pretty complete analysis of Cody’s drop in production for those who like numbers.
    Long story short, the article is basically complimentary even though it includes lots of negative stats.

    https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-dodgers-are-so-deep-that-they-dont-need-all-their-stars/

    1. I give full credit to the manager.

      No I don’t.

      Hey, Cody listed right below Ted Williams. That’s gotta be a good thing, right?

  15. One game back. I still say we’re going to win the Division. I love our line up and pitching. We are on a nice roll and see no reason why it can’t continue. I haven’t posted much lately because I’m not interested right now in:
    * Whether Bauer is guilty or getting screwed (pun intended) and don’t want to argue about it
    * Whether Seager will be back next year. Same for CK, KJ, CT3, Price, Kelly and Max
    * What’s the infield look like in 2022?
    * Whether Doc is the best Manager or not, this year and ever.
    * Whether Graterol or V-Con make the post season roster.
    * Whether Manny and Tatis are buddies again.
    * Which posters are incompetent, stupid or pea-brained?
    * Will there be quick resolution with the CBA?
    * These are all very interesting topics and are great talking points that I can’t wait to discuss …………………….. in late November.
    * What I care about is Tuesday in Colorado. And than Wednesday in Colorado. Give it our best effort every single day. Take care of our business and see what happens.
    I like our chances.

    1. I do want to add that Mookie giving the Cincy fan an autographed bat in trade for Friedl’s home run ball was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in baseball. What a class act to even think about that let alone doing it. That just made my day. Well that and the win and CK making it through another outing healthy. His fastball is now his change up but that slider and curve are still winners.

      2. Totally agree. Mookie and JT are two of the nicest guys in baseball. That was a very thoughtful move and makes for an easy decision. Keep a rookie’s 1st home run ball, or get a Mookie Betts bat. No brainer. Spread some goodwill for the Dodgers while you’re at it. Boss move indeed!

    2. I will be happy with 2 of 3 against these guys. They have been pesky all season, so I don’t feel we will sweep them. I sure hope SD can win one of their three as well.

      However, playing Brewers the last 3 does not look good for us. I think they will want to beat us, thus not go easy, because they probably are okay if they don’t have to battle with us in the NCLS.

      1. They will be setting their rotation up to face the NL East winner, who ever that might be. And they might be resting some arms. They have clinched their post season ticket.

    1. Reptilians that betray us by pretending to be one of us. Turkish in origin maybe, but applies in many countries. Such veneration requires a certain degree of willful ignorance.

  18. Blake Treinen has been great for the Dodgers this year. In a few interviews on Sirius MLB he has been courteous, kind and humble. He always seems to give credit to his teammates and coaches.
    Not sure why the SF chronicle needs to write an article about Blake’s Instagram and social media activity.
    The chronicle writer sounds like a leftist sportswriter, who thinks someone with different opinions than himself is dangerous. Not sure why Blake possibly liking a Christian recording artist is reason for criticism.
    Keep up the great work Blake!

    1. It’s a fact that the Left incessantly chanted Russian Conspiracy Theories about Trump for three and a half years, yet they get so indignant when anyone questions an election for less than a year. By the way, the DNC’s Attorney was indicted last week in the Durham investigation. We will see who he rolls on or if he ends up dead (as has happened to others). For the record, I think the Pillow Guy is a Kook, but some kookie people have accomplished some crazy things. Some of the conspiracy theories are no longer “theories” and believe what Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1807:

      “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day

      I will add, that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors. He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false.”

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